College Football Pick 'Em Pool Picks (Week 2 2024) - Targets, Avoids, Predictions for ESPN Pickem Contests

Our Mike Marteny lays out the confidence points in ESPN College Pick Em for Week 2 of the 2024 NCAA college football season. Which upsets have the best chance of happening?

The first week of ESPN College Pick Em saw one of our entrants hit 50 points. GreatestMomentsinFB is off to the early lead with their 50-point week. Chatter Chet, ESPNfan1861988199, and DomDame A Nator all notched 48 points. IRONmike is just one point behind. Don't bother looking for my entry. I had Virginia Tech as my 10-point pick.

The top three entries with the most points at the end of Week 14 of the 2024 college football season will get a free year of RotoBaller premium access across ALL sports, not just college football! That will give you access to premium lineup tools, DFS optimizers, betting picks (including props), expert articles, predictions, and draft tools for MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and college football.

The lead pack pulled away a bit, but there are still 13 weeks to catch up! I felt good about Week 1, and it didn't turn out well. Week 2 looks tough. There are quite a few good matchups this week, including the CyHawk game and two top-25 matchups.

College Football Pick-Em Overview

This article will be about confidence game mode. You can also read my against-the-spread picks here every week for every game, so you know how I'm leaning toward that version of the game. If you want to play the spread version as well, you can join that group here.

Let's get to the countdown! I will count them up from least confident (1) to most (10). You know, for dramatic effect. If I do change my pick or points sometime during the week, I will try to update the article or post it on Twitter. Otherwise, you know all of my picks each week.

(1) Georgia Tech over Syracuse

This is a tough one. Tech made headlines when they sniped the Seminoles in Dublin. I had a feeling that Florida State was overrated. Losing to Boston College proved that. So, where are we with Tech? Both lines look good and Malik Rutherford is on his way to being a stud. What about the Orange?

The Kyle McCord debut went well against a pretty good Ohio team. TE Oronde Gadsden II should be on his way back up draft boards after losing 2023 to injury.

Georgia Tech's defense is at least as good as Ohio's, and the offense is much better. I'll take Haynes King, Rutherford, and Jamal Haynes, all in Year 2 of the system, over McCord and company in Game 2 of Fran Brown's tenure. Syracuse made a great hire, and that was obvious in Week 1. Tech is just a little bit ahead of them in development right now.

(2) Arizona State over Mississippi State

We didn't learn much about the Bulldogs in their scrimmage against Eastern Kentucky. Baylor transfer Blake Shapen had a strong game, but he also led the team in rushing with 44 yards. The Bulldogs did run for 203 yards, so it suggests that they don't have a featured back. Arizona State does.

Cam Skattebo made the successful transition to FBS last year from Sacramento State and was one of the few bright spots on a bad Sun Devils team. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Wyoming is a strong team, but they do have a reputation for being tough.

Arizona State destroyed them. To me, that's far more impressive. Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt had a nice game for the Fun Devils.

(3) Iowa State over Iowa

Yeah… looks like Iowa football is back pic.twitter.com/r9N8onz5zm

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) August 31, 2024

It took the Hawkeyes a while to get going, but Iowa scored 40 points in a game for the first time since October 1, 2021. Head coach Kirk Ferentz was also suspended for this game. Coincidence? We'll find out this week.

We know what Iowa is. Their defense is what your favorite team wishes they had. You can usually find a better offense by going and watching a game at your local high school.

The Hawkeyes have a couple of good backs this year (as usual), and Cade McNamara looked like an actual quarterback in this game. That said, it's easy to look like a machine against a team like Illinois State that went 6-5 in FCS last year.

Iowa State also played an FCS team, but it was a team that made the playoffs last year. Rocco Becht did what he does best in the opener. He completed a high rate of passes and didn't make mistakes. Of course, when you have a guy like Jaylin Noel out there, it's easier for Becht than most.

Can’t stop watching this ?

@NoelJaylin13 pic.twitter.com/XzJKw1mrPT

— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) September 1, 2024

I may end up moving this one down. The Cyclones couldn't run the ball against North Dakota, and for some inexplicable reason, Abu Sama III only carried the ball five times. FIVE! They need to go ask Mike Gundy how to use a stud RB.

These teams are pretty close to each other. It's going to be a defensive battle, but I give Iowa State the edge because their QB is less likely to make a mistake in crunch time. And...Jaylin Noel. Jayden Higgins is no slouch, either. The Cyclones are going to need both receivers to come up big to take home the CyHawk.

(4) Pittsburgh over Cincinnati

I'm not going to say that Kent is a good team, but they are compared to Towson. Pitt's offense showed an explosiveness that hasn't been there since 2021. Eli Holstein looked good running the offense, and Desmond Reid is a big play waiting to happen.

He's not going to run wild on Cincinnati, but the balance in the offense should be enough for Pitt to win this game. They aren't as one-dimensional this year.

(5) Nebraska over Colorado

Colorado's defense isn't any better than it was last year. Nebraska's defense is still going to have problems with the Colorado receivers, but a balanced Nebraska offense can gouge the Colorado defense. Dylan Raiola looked poised and confident, and Nebraska has four backs that can run. That kind of backfield rotation keeps fresh legs in the offense all game long.

(6) Washington State over Texas Tech

I'm sad that Mike Leach doesn't get to see the Leach Bowl. Texas Tech led Abilene Christian 32-14 with three minutes left in the first half. ACU came back to force overtime and only lost because they went for two in the first overtime. That kind of defensive issue will be a massive problem against Washington State.

John Mateer threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns on just 17 pass attempts in Washington State's win over Portland State. Texas Tech allowed something called a Maverick McIvor throw for 506 yards on them last week. What do you think Mateer is going to do?

(7) Oklahoma State over Arkansas

Arkansas looked really good in dismantling Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Pokes looked good in beating the team that ran the table (15-0) to an FCS Championship last year. They are not the same.

Ollie Gordon’s Heisman Campaign is off to a ? Start…

- 146 Total Yards
- 3 Touchdowns
- ~10 Broken Tackles

Your Weekly Ollie Update is BACK ? pic.twitter.com/tBuRApI99g

— Reagan Harris (OSU Mart) (@OKSTMart) August 31, 2024

(8) Tennessee over North Carolina State

Everyone knows that Orange Kool-Aid (Clemson, Tennessee, Florida) is some of the strongest around. I swear that I'm not partaking. What I saw last year was an FCS playoff team dismantled by a high-powered offense. The Pack struggled with Western Carolina for the first 40 minutes of the game.

I still have some questions about the Tennessee run game, but Nico Iamaleava looked even better than he did in the bowl game. This passing game is dangerous enough to make up for (maybe) a lack of a running game. That said, the Vols churned up 304 rushing yards (and a cloud of dust) in the opener.

(9) Texas over Michigan

Michigan had trouble disposing of Fresno until late in the game, but that's not a knock on them. Fresno is a good team. Michigan's defense is just that much better. The issue I see here is that Texas demolished a Colorado State team that is almost on the same level as Fresno.

Texas has a proven QB that can win in hostile road environments (they beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa last September). As Quinn Ewers reiterated in his Fansville TV spot, "We don't need any backup...even if he has great hair and famous relatives." The point is...Texas has two really good quarterbacks and Michigan has two average ones.

(10) Kansas over Illinois

Both teams looked methodical in their Week 1 warmups. Illinois looked better, but I remember that this Kansas team is at full strength. The Jayhawks return last year's original starting QB, one backup QB, all three leading rushers, and all three leading receivers. Continuity is king.

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